Pick holder for fretted musical instruments



Jan. 26 1926.

J. MARTELL PICK HOLDER FOR FRETTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Jan. 8 1924 Joim ,Mcrrid/b Patented Jan. 26, 1926,

PATENT O FF'IC- E.

JOHN MABTELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PICK' HOLDER; FOR FRETTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed January 18, 1924..

To all whom it may concern:

Be itj-known that I, JoHnMAR-Tmm, cit-izen of the United States ofA-merica, residinglat New York; city, county and State of New York, have; invented new and useful Improvements-in Pick Holders for; Fretted may be dropped before; a new pick is brought intense. It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an attachment for fretted musical instruments, such attachment being adapted to containa number of picks and to hold them within easy reach of the performer, who may simply slide a new pick out. of the attachment in the event of an accident occurring to the one being used. I accomplish this purpose by providing a device, of the character hereinafter described, which isreadily applicable to any suitable part of the musical instrument, and which is designed to yieldably embrace one or more picks of any. size and weight ordinarilyused for this purpose.

According to this invention, and its use inconnection withabanjo, it has been found particularly advantageous to attach the pick holder to a bracket of the, banjo head, so that in the-event of a lost or broken pick the available supply is near at hand and another pickmay be removed from the holder and placedin use with practically no perceptibleloss in rhythm of the composition being rendered by the performer.

Oneembodiment, of my invention is. illustratively exemplified; in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is a plan view of a portion of a banjo head and neck with my improved attachment applied thereto: Figure 2 is a fragmentary View of the banjo rim showing a pick holder being supported on a bracket; Figure 3 is a sectional view on lines 33 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a substantially vertical sectiontaken on lines 44 of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a View of a neck portion of a differently fretted instrument Serial No. 686,947.

such as might be used in a mandolin or ukulele, the pick holderbeing attached to the peg-head of-the instrument; Figure 6 isa side view of the peghcad shown in Figure 5 and Figure 7 is an end view of the same.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 to 1, inclusive, l0 designates a banjohead having the usual arm or neck 11 inserted in a. rigid rim 12, the rim 12 being provided, in-the usual manner, with a scriesof brackets 13.

Supported on one of the brackets 13 and arranged radially of the head 10 is a pick holder attachment 14 comprising the present invention. The holder is removably attached to the selected bracket 13 by means of a clamping device 15 which comprises a pair of plates having their end portions 16 curved or grooved to provide substantially circular gripping surfaces, one of which is adapted to embrace the mid-portion of the bracket 13, while the other grooved grip receives and supports the holder proper. The two plates of the device are clamped about the bracket 13 and holder 14% by ad justment of a clamp screw member 18 carried by one of the plates and having the head seated against the other plate, as clearlyillustrated in figure.

As stated, one groove 16 of the clamp 15. embraces the stem 19 of the holder 14:. the stern, being a shortlength of material bent upon itself to form a channel portion, which is adapted to yield slightly when the clamp is adjusted to provide av more effective en gagement of the two members. Beyond the stem 19 the holder is bent at an angle to form a rigid bracket 20 which is disposed over the head 10 and in aslight upward inclination to the plane of the head 10. The freeend of the portion 20 is splayed to provide two rigid fingers 22 overlyingthe head of the instrument, as shown in Figure 1, and attached to the bracket 20 is a flexible, angular supporting metal piece 24, one arm of which is integrally attached to the lower portion of the bracket 20 at the inner face thereof, while the other arm is held substantially parallel to the upper portion 21 and arranged to exert a yieldable pressure against the under surface of the fingers 22. One or more picks 23 inserted between the rigid fingers 22 and the flexible arm 24 may be readily removed one at a time by placing the thumb and first finger against the portion of the pick between the fingers 22 and the under surface of the flexible arm and then drawing the pick away from the holder.

In the modification of the pick holder illustrated in Figures 5 to T, inclusive, the peghead 24 of the instrument is used to support the attachment which comprises a sub stantially U-shaped rigid member 25, one arm of which projects under the peghead 24- and is provided with an opening to receive a wood screw 26, the latter being adapted to project through a number of spacing washers 27 and into the under face of the peghead. It is preferable to attach the holder over the end of the peghead, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, but it will be perfectly apparent however that the holder may be affixed to any other suitable part of the head as well. Referring again to the specific construction of the member 25, the closed end of the latter bridges the end of the peghead and supports the overhanging upwardly inclined splayed arm 28 which corresponds with the fingered portion of the bracket 20 of the preferred form. The flexible angle piece 29 is integrally attached to the inside surface of the closed end of the U-shaped member 25 and is arranged so that the free arm yieldably engages, supports the picks and holds them against the under face of the splayed arm 28.

The latter construction is preferably used in connection with mandolins, ukuleles and similarly constructed instruments, while the preferred construction shown in Flgures 1 to 4.. is designed to be used especially with banjos, but it will be noted particularly 1n connection with both n'iodiiications that the holder may be adjusted with respect to the instrument and that the adjustmentis practically vertically in both forms of application. As illustrated in Figure 2 this adjustment is effected by means of the clamp member 15. By releasing the screw 18 the clamping action is relieved and either the bracket 20, clamp 15, or both may be adj usted with respect to the bracket 13 supporting the attachment. This ad ustment 1s made necessary by the varying w1dths of rims 12. According to the construction shown in Figure 6 this same adjustment is made by increasing or reducing the number of spacing washers 27, the adjustment in the latter case being necessary because of the different thicknesses of material used in pegheads.

Following proper adjustment of the pick holding attachment to the instrument and the placing of the picks between the rigid and flexible arms of the holder, it is a very simple matter, in the case of a pick becoming broken or lost during a performance, for the musician to reach over the head of the lIlStlUDIlQilt and withdraw another pick from the holder.

.Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A pick holder attachment for fretted musical instruments, comprising a rigid suporting bracket, and separate yieldable means carried by the bracket and normally contacting therewith for yieldably holding a pick against the bracket and over the head of the instrument.

2. A pick holder attachment for fretted musical instruments comprising a rigid supporting bracket, and a yieldable plate attached to the bracket normally contacting therewith and underlying a portion thereof, whereby a plurality of picks may be held between the brackct and the plate and over the head of the instrument.

3. A. pick holder attachment for fretted musical instruments, comprising a rigid angular bracket for attachment to the instrument, and an angular spring plate having one flange attached to the bracket adjacent the angle thereof and the other flange underlying the portion of the bracket beyond the angle.

i. A pick holder attachment for fretted musical instruments, comprising a rigid angular bracket for attachment at one end to the instrument, the other end being disposed over the head of the instrument and having a splayed free end portion, and an angular spring plate having one flange attached to the bracket adjacent the angle thereof and the other flange yiel'dably engaged against the under surface of the free end and projecting to a point short of the ends of the overlying splayed portion of the bracket.

In combination, a pick holder attachment for fretted musical instruments, and means for detachably and adjustably supporting the holder on the instrument.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN MARTELL. 

